Due to heavy rains and high winds, French Quarter Festival organizers say the music may not start at 11 a.m. sharp, but the show will go on. The National Weather Center is expecting the rain to taper off late into the morning and clear up by around lunchtime, said center meteorologist Shawn O'Neil.

“We still have a pretty good amount of rainfall in the area,” O’Neil said at around 8:30 this morning, but, he added that as the storm moves from west to east, “This will start to clear up. In the metro area, (the chance of rain) will be probably less than 20 percent by noon,” O’Neil said.

She noted that the festival's schedule will likely have to be adjusted as organizers clean up from the high wind and heavy rain.

“We’ll probably have delays,” she said. “Our delays are because everything is soaked. We have to dry everything on the stages” and in the food preparation areas.

Schramm noted in a follow-up email that the "festival staff, suppliers and crew are securing equipment now, and we will get back up and running as soon as we can. As always, safety rules. ... We will open when equipment is dried off and sites are secure. Expect delays at the 11 a.m. opening, but it looks like we will have a beautiful afternoon."